Re: Adam Lambert - Season 8

Originally Posted by dallas_viewer;3387424;

...BTW, Adam should also take note of what happened to Chris Daughtry. Daughtry thought he could take every theme/genre, week to week, and just turn it into a screaming rock song, and he would be so good that it wouldn't matter. But viewers got tired of what seemed to be almost the same song week after week--like a one-trick pony--and Daughtry was booted off the show. Hopefully Adam will not fall into the same trap...

Well, the AI voters might not have liked it Daughtry's all-rock all-the-time, but since Daughtry left American Idol, I think he has sold more records in his genre (rock) than some AI winners have sold in their genre. Sometimes winning on AI isn't everything. At the same time, Daughtry's loud vocalizations are an authentic expression of his art. With Adam, the screaming doesn't seem to express anything except loudness.
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"Tons of surprises, but it wouldn't be 'American Idol' without it, would it?" Cowell told MTV News. "At the end of the day, I could go out and find 12 great singers, but that's kind of boring. The fact that there's people there who shouldn't be there makes it 'American Idol.' "

Re: Adam Lambert - Season 8

Re: Adam Lambert - Season 8

Well, the AI voters might not have liked it Daughtry's all-rock all-the-time, but since Daughtry left American Idol, I think he has sold more records in his genre (rock) than some AI winners have sold in their genre. Sometimes winning on AI isn't everything. At the same time, Daughtry's loud vocalizations are an authentic expression of his art. With Adam, the screaming doesn't seem to express anything except loudness.

I'm not disputing Daughtry's success. I'm just saying that, with respect to AI, Daughtry's insistence on putting out basically the same fare each week, regardless of genre/theme, caused his downfall, IMHO. If he could have demonstrated a little versatility (and maybe some humility?), I think he'd have gone farther. I remember the week he was voted off--I thought after he sang, "Same ol' same ol'".

Nothing wrong with that. I just don't think it's the right formula for winning AI. (And as I recall, he was not too happy at the time when he got booted.)

BTW, I don't see Daughtry's screaming to be any more or less "an expression of his art" than Adam's stylings. In fact, while I like some of CD's songs, his screams grate on me much more than Adam's. So, eye of the beholder and all that.

Re: Adam Lambert - Season 8

Originally Posted by OriginalSinner;3387338;

Johnny and June would have loved Adam's version.

Not having known them personally I can't say what they would have loved. I'm betting that they would have expected to recognize the song, which they wouldn't have. I was around for Johnny's entire career and I never heard him sing anything remotely like what we heard the other night. That was a sorry mess.

Re: Adam Lambert - Season 8

I enjoyed Adam doing MJ a lot more last week. That said, I do think it was an original take on Cash. And, it wasn't for everyone.
What I do like about him is that he does shake things up in a very original way. I do think he has amazing vocals. Most of the singers on AI seem to do the same thing each week and it does get boring, for me at least. It's fun to see someone come along who is not out of the usual cookie cutter Idol mold.

Re: Adam Lambert - Season 8

Originally Posted by norealityhere;3387717;

I enjoyed Adam doing MJ a lot more last week. That said, I do think it was an original take on Cash. And, it wasn't for everyone.
What I do like about him is that he does shake things up in a very original way. I do think he has amazing vocals. Most of the singers on AI seem to do the same thing each week and it does get boring, for me at least. It's fun to see someone come along who is not out of the usual cookie cutter Idol mold.

Right now, I can't give him credit for originality. Like David Cook last year, what he's doing right now is finding more obscure covers of songs from each theme, and performing that version instead of the better known version. If singing a Garth Brooks song as Garth would sing it is not original, then singing someone else's cover version isn't really original either, is it?

Now later in his season, David Cook got comfortabale enough with the "rocker" version of covers that he was able to come up with some interpretations on his own. I give him credit for being original there. If Adam starts to do the same, I'll credit him with originality too. But as long as he's searching out other people's originality, I give the credit to that person and not Adam.

Re: Adam Lambert - Season 8

I'm really not sure what you're meaning here as I, myself, was not thrilled with his take on Cash.
I do give him plaudits for his vocals and his originality and I'm not referring to simply taking other people's covers.

Re: Adam Lambert - Season 8

Originally Posted by Ionan;3387452;

Mt. Smugmore needs a reality check and an attitude adjustment. It was clear that he dislikes country music, and it wouldn't surprise me if he had chosen Ring of Fire for its iconic status as a big F-U...pretty much like saying "Oh, look, I took your song and screwed it up, how'd you like that now? Aren't I better than the original? Of Course I am! I' AM original by attempting to copy others' versions!"

Of course, there's no way to prove that unless he comes out and says it flat out, but I get that kind of vibe from him after he sings pretty much anything that he changes around. If he were to make the song truly his own, I can respect that, but what he does to them is no where near original to him.

That was the impression I got as well. I hated the song arrangement, of course, but I hated his disrespectful attitude even more.

Re: Adam Lambert - Season 8

Originally Posted by norealityhere;3387717;

I enjoyed Adam doing MJ a lot more last week. That said, I do think it was an original take on Cash. And, it wasn't for everyone.

But isn't the whole point of having a country/motown/broadway/whatever week to pick a song in the genre and perform it to the best of your ability while being true to that genre? I am not saying that you must emulate the original. I think Alexis could have changed up Jolene a bit, for example. But on country night, I do not expect to hear a performance like Adam's that is so far out of the genre. Maybe that is just my misperception?

Re: Adam Lambert - Season 8

Originally Posted by Veruka;3387449;

In the off-stage post-performance interviews shown last night, I think that Adam showed what will prove to be his weakness. In commenting about the negative feedback, he made some flip comment about it not being for everyone, so some people didn't like it, who cares! That kind of attitude works a lot of times in the arts, but not in pop music. In pop music, everything has to be done to please the masses. On American Idol, when the votes keep you alive, it matters that much more. People who make the choice to be true to who they are as artists don't seek the world of fame via pop music. They stay true to their art, and accept the smaller audience that comes with it. Others choose to stray from the art, please the masses, and reap the fame that comes with it. But you don't get both.

It's not even so much that he said that as a potential "pop" artist. It's that he said that hoping to win a popularity contest.

Idol is inherently LCD--least common denominator--in many ways. We may bemoan that sometimes, but its true. That doesn't mean excellence can't win through. Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood prove it can. But it won't be "different".

His attitude comes off as arrogant. If he was some random guy playing small clubs and doing it for the art, then it would come off as a true statement of his passion. But he's on a popularity contest. He PUT HIMSELF in a popularity contest. No one held a gun to his head. It damn well BETTER be for everyone, or at least a large percentage of everyone, or else he should be trying this somewhere else.